The Fall
by DeimosPhobos
Summary: An alternate version of the dinner scene involving more Doris and a little less Tiny.  This story is up for adoption!
1. Unexpected

Disclaimer: Meet the Robinson's belongs to Disney and stuff. Title is from the Gorillaz album, so that's not mine either.

Even after all the excitement from Lewis's failure had died down, the young inventor still felt like smiling. He was so used to upsetting others because of screwing up, and here was an entire family who encouraged it! Well, to an extent at least. For the first time that day, he hoped that it would take longer for him to repair the broken time machine. He didn't want to leave the Robinson's.

Smiling, he recalled how the odd clan had given a toast in his honor, taking their drinks and raising them before dumping the contents on their heads. That was pretty confusing, and he was still figuring out how that came to be. Whatever was in the drink, it was some sort of flavored water at least, was getting his hair wet and falling down his neck. With a slight shiver Lewis turned his attention to the youngest member of the Robinson's. Wilbur had no idea how lucky he was. Still holding his glass, the raven haired boy, only a year older than Lewis if you chose to look at it that way, was chatting with his mother. Clearly he wasn't paying attention, his mind lost as he tried to split his focus. He kept a calm façade up, but the gears in his head were spinning madly. He knew he was running out of time, Lewis had to get the time machine fixed, quickly! The Bowler Hat Guy would make a move eventually, and the moment seemed too easy for him to pass up. Heck, there was a huge window right behind him, the thief could be spying on him!

Franny asked for an explanation on Lewis's emotional statement earlier. The answer was simple enough, but she really didn't want to believe it. Sadly, her son shot her hopes down when he confirmed that the blonde was an orphan. Exasperated, the woman glanced over to the poor boy.

"Honey, why didn't you tell me?" she whispered. Wilbur shrugged.

"Uhh, I forgot?" he lied, smiling sheepishly. He set his glass down, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's not much of a conversation starter, is it?"

"Oh, no wonder he's been so quiet!" Franny went on. Hoping to cheer the boy up, he was standing alone by his chair, she called him over. "So, Lewis, how's school?"

Lewis shrugged. "Well, we just had a science fair-" he started, cut off as Wilbur pulled a face and shook his head, silently warning the kid to not blow his secret so easily. It was too late though, and the woman practically pounced on this information, determined to have a conversation.

F%**)&*$%#$*(&#&+)_&*_$#%&&((_#$#%**)&*)()_%$^^#&#*

High above them, a familiar black shape flew over to rest atop the vacated stage left by the frogs. From this lighted perch, Doris could easily see everyone below, including the pointy haired twerp. She knew that her… partner… would be back soon to damage things, so she decided to take action directly. With careful aim, she shot a line off into a section of wall beyond the group below. Thus connected to the futuristic drywall, she began to slowly draw the line back in, stopping when the chandelier she was on hung directly above him. They still had no idea what was going on. Raising a sharp metal leg to the rope holding the heavy light up, she began sawing, swift and silent. If she had a mouth she would be grinning manically.

Not only would she stop the boy in his tracks, she would also get revenge on his father.

F%**)&*$%#$*(&#&+)_&*_$#%&&((_#$#%**)&*)()_%$^^#&#*

Lewis had somehow managed to steer the conversation away from the science fair, and was now talking about- what else- the weather. His blue eyes shone with false enthusiasm as he remarked upon the current temperature. Behind his mom, Wilbur shook his head, rolling his eyes.

Faking a cough, Wilbur gained the attention of his mom and Lewis, as well as Uncle Art, who had been within earshot.

"Hey, here's an idea!" the boy started. "Lewis, want to go to my room to play chargeball?" The request was more of a demand, so the blonde really had no choice. Unfortunately, because he was from the past, he hadn't the foggiest what Wilbur was talking about. He was very curious though, so he was fine with going to check it out.

Lewis nodded slowly, an odd look on his face as he heard a faint tinkling. From above, Doris was nearly complete with cutting the rope free. The chandelier had begun to tilt from where it dangled, giving in to the force of gravity and the weakening rope. Wilbur stared at him, about to ask if he was alright, but Lewis waved his hand.

"Do you hear that?" he asked the older boy. The rest of the family were having their own conversations, at varying levels of noise, so the fact that he could hear such a tiny sound was extremely weird.

"Hear what?" Franny asked, for the noise had stopped. Doris had scuttled up a bit to cling to the rope just above the cut and watch the next scene unfold. Only a few stubborn strands of material kept the whole thing from crashing down.

Lewis finally glanced up- just in time to see the rope snap. With a cry, he lunged at Wilbur, knowing that he was the one who would have otherwise been hit.

"Look out!"

In a brief flash of memory, the orphan recalled how he was always last to be picked on a team in gym class. It wasn't because the other students didn't like him; he got on well with most actually. No, the reason was that he lacked muscle. He was weak. So when he jumped at Wilbur with the intention of pushing both of them out of harm's way, he only succeeded in shoving the boy back a few steps before falling on his rear. Franny was already out of the way, but her maternal instincts took over as she saw Lewis get in the way of the mound of falling glass and metal. She called his name, taking him by the hand and tugging, but it wasn't enough. She had saved him from being totally crushed, but he had been given a deep and nasty cut on his head. In the struggle, those with common sense had backed away as the glass hit the ground and shattered, leaving a stunned trio of Wilbur, Franny, and Lewis, who had fallen unconscious.

Art came forward, wrenching the chandelier away so that Lewis could be checked. Aunt Billie was at Franny's side in an instant, a cloth napkin in hand to use to stop the flow of blood from the boys head wound.

"We need to take that hat off of him, Franny…" she said, kneeling down and doing the task herself. "Oh!"

As if it had been spring-loaded, Lewis's hair shot back into its usual messy style, giving him the look that he had been struck by lightening. Wilbur, too shocked to get back up, stared at him. His grandma finally said the thing that was on everyone's mind:

"Cornelius?" she asked, covering her mouth with her hand. "Is that my boy?"

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Carl had practically flown over to Wilbur, pulling up before hissing into his ear.

"I think now is the time to tell them!" he said fearfully. "This is too far!"

"I know, Carl." Wilbur whispered back. He closed his eyes for a moment as Carl reminded him of the numbers he had run, and had to swallow down the wave of fear that tried to take him over. There was still time. There was always time.

He went to stand beside his aunt, gently taking the cloth from her and pressing it against Lewis's forehead. He hated how quickly the cloth filled with red.

"Guys, I'm sorry. I left the garage door unlocked, and some guy in a bowler hat went in and stole one of the time machines. I took the other one and went back in time to get dad, I figured that… the memory scanner… Is he going to be alright?"

The question was aimed at his mom, the one who seemed to know everything and who was always right.

"Wilbur, do you know just how serious this is?" she said, holding the inert body to keep the glass from cutting him. "This is _serious_." She added, furious and terrified at the same time. If something were to happen to her husband, when he was only a boy, what would that mean for the rest of them?

"I never meant for this," he said, looking stricken.

Franny only bit her lip, she couldn't speak. With slight effort due to the numerous cuts she had received, she stood, holding Lewis in her arms and carrying him to the table, where she gently set him down. The order was given to fetch the first aid kit. The white box was instantly produced by Carl, who had one kept in his chest. She flung the box open, removing the necessary items to be within easy reach and began work.

This was too much. Doris slammed a claw into the wall to vent her fury, before scuttling down a few feet. Who could have expected the skinny little geek to turn into some hero? Grumbling to herself, she traveled the rest of the way down the wall, crawling along on the floor to hide under the table.

Meanwhile, Uncle Gaston was inspecting the crash site, his face set in a deep out-of-place frown. There wasn't much, other than the obvious glass and metal and light blubs. Then he came across the rope, and everything changed. Holding it in his hands to better show the others, the man announced how the light had been set to fall. He scanned the area, his eyes favoring the doorway and the large window as he tried to locate the villain. The family split up, many, including Carl, leaving the room to search the house and grounds. Doris kept to the shadow under the table.

Wilbur hadn't the heart to leave his parents, blaming himself. Numbly, he sank into a chair, hiding his face in his hands. Doris crept closer like a moth drawn to a flame. His grandparents helped Franny with dressing the rest of the wounds, which were relatively minor in comparison to the one on his head.

"I'm sorry, dad." The boy said, shoulders shaking a little.

F%**)&*$%#$*(&#&+)_&*_$#%&&((_#$#%**)&*)()_%$^^#&#*

It was Tallulah who saw the dinosaur, a tyrannosaurus rex, first. Raising the alarm to those around, the group took off running for the house. Being out in the open with a prehistoric carnivore on the loose was akin to suicide.

However, the creature had something else on its mind, easily beating them to the house and then running around to the large window on the side before leaping in. There wasn't any time to do anything other than scream. Suddenly the head of the beast, decorated with a miniature bowler hat, was there, and then Lewis wasn't. The adults were knocked aside in the process, but were quick to get back up. Wilbur was already up, gaping in horror at the dinosaur. Doris stared too, but was anything but frightened. From inside the dinosaurs head, a voice began scolding it.

"No, no! You can't eat him!" the voice yelled. Like a scolded puppy, the beast opened its mouth, dumping Lewis to the ground. Then the voice referred to Wilbur, telling its slave that he was alright to eat. This pleased it, and the dinosaur roared at Wilbur as if to say "Hello dinner!" To further prove its point, the beast leaned in, licking its chops before taking a bite. With a cry, Wilbur jumped on the table, sliding down its surface to end up by the door. Already in survival mode, he took off running for the door, but then stopped.

"Wilbur, run!" Franny screamed, blocking her in-laws just in case. She knew that her son was only hesitating for their sake. "Run, Wilbur! Lewis will be fine, just go!"

His grandparents rushed past, knowing they were both dead meat and in the way if they were to stay behind. Lucille took him gently but firmly by the arm.

"Wilbur, sweetie, come on." She said, practically dragging him away with the help of her husband. "You need to get to safety!"

He allowed himself to be taken away, as if in a trance. It wasn't until he saw the others, crowded just inside the open front door that he began to resist. He squirmed violently, breaking free and running away as the family voiced their protest.

"Wilbur, get back here! It's not safe!" A voice called.

"No! I need to help them!" the boy shouted back. He put on a burst of speed, shooting into the room to find his parents hiding under the table as the dinosaur tried to figure out how to get them out without accidently killing its target. The boy yelled, charging at the table to seize the nearest plates, which he then threw as best as he could at the enemy's eye. He instantly became noticed, but then the rest of the family charged in. Using their own unique skills, or just helping another, they took on the foe.

The bowler hat floating beside the door went unnoticed.

"Mom, hand Lewis to me! I'll get him out of here!" Wilbur said, crouching down and holding his arms out. The area was clear, he could make it. Biting her lip, Franny handed the boy over, watching with wide eyes as her son took him and ran. She crawled out from under the table following him to the door to cover his back if necessary. Her back was to him so that she could keep an eye on the dinosaur. Then everything went wrong.

Doris, seeing that the dinosaur was not doing its job properly, took it upon herself to seize the running boy by his ankles, efficiently tripping him. The fall was sudden, and Lewis was dropped once more, hitting the ground in the worst way.

Thunder cracked outside, stunning the dinosaur into silence. Transfixed, it trained its eyes on the sky, marveling at the clouds and how they so quickly began swirling around. The fight was more or less over.

Wilbur, groaning, rolled over as best as he could to see who had jumped at him. With a strangled cry, he kicked his legs, freeing himself from Doris's arms. She was fine with this, because she knew that Lewis was more important. Only there was something wrong with the boy. True, he was unconscious, but now he was too still. Dead. The sky outside, transformed into a sick yellow, told its own story of what was to come.

Determined to defend Lewis, Wilbur jumped to his feet. He kicked out at Doris, somehow hitting her, before being swatted aside from her. As he stood back up, the sky roared once more, then the unthinkable happened. Wilbur began to fade away, becoming smoke. Terrified, he patted a hand against his chest, crying out as it passed through. He looked up, seeing the glowing blue eyes of Carl. Both of them knew what was happening: he was fading from existence.

"_Wilbur_!" Franny screamed, rushing too late to save her son. He reached out to her desperately, he didn't want to leave, but it was no use. With a final crackle of thunder, he faded away, his very existence being dragged through the area as he was pulled out into the open air, and finally up into the yellow clouds.


	2. Adoption!

I'm really sorry for those of you who have been waiting so long for an update!

Yes, I did say to some that I would continue The Fall, I really had been planning on it at the time, but it fell into the back of my head and was eventually forgotten when I got writer's block and I began writing other things. I've tried to come back to it every now and again, but I honestly can't think of anything else to do with it, after the ending of the first chapter, that would be worth reading. So, I'm putting this fanfic up for adoption! Seems (a little) better than just slapping "discontinued" on it or leaving it to rot on my page, doesn't it?

If you'd like to take this story and continue it yourself then go on ahead; just message me so I know about it, and be sure to mention that it is adopted when you post your own chapter(s). Feel free to change things around too if you want! More than one person can adopt it if they want.

DP


End file.
